Cathay people honoured for service excellence and exceptional work behind the scenesAnnual Niki and Betsy Awards Presentation Ceremony highlights the extraordinary customer service, outstanding efforts and behaviour of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon people

24 Feb 2017

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon recognised their people for delivering true service excellence and exceptional work behind the scenes at the annual Niki and Betsy Awards Ceremony last night, presenting 15 individual and five team awards.

Hong Kong’s home airlines’ customer-centric ethos puts the needs of passengers at the heart of everything they do in order to provide a Life Well Travelled, and these Awards identify those people who truly go above and beyond what is expected of them, wherever they are, whatever their role.

Named after the first two aircraft that took Cathay Pacific to the skies in the 1940s, the Niki and Betsy Awards celebrate those who do amazing things – those who go the extra mile for a customer or colleague, do something exceptional, inspire others and embody the spirit of the airlines’ brand.

The Betsy Award, which was established in 2005 to express the company’s appreciation to those who have taken customer service to the next level, delivering Service Straight from the Heart. This year’s award winners, from Hong Kong and overseas, demonstrated great care and professionalism towards passengers who were once in need, from medical emergencies to unexpected incidents.

Those people recognised included a flight purser who demonstrated effective nursing skills and quick decision-making to save a life after a three-year-old boy had stopped breathing; outport colleagues who worked almost non-stop for four days helping stranded passengers after an emergency flight diversion; and an off-duty flight attendant who spent a portion of his annual leave to accompany a passenger to hospital in Hong Kong, in addition to reassuring and communicating with the passenger’s relatives overseas.

Meanwhile, the Niki Award, which was introduced this year for the very first time, recognises the airlines’ everyday heroes who go above and beyond to make a difference to the business and their colleagues. These people may not always be in the spotlight, but their efforts and behaviour should be.

Winners of the inaugural Award included a service leader who never hesitates to accept new challenges or extra work and regularly offers to help his colleagues with all aspects of training; an aircraft recovery team, who worked tirelessly and skilfully to overcome a range of challenges following a flight diversion in order to get hundreds of passengers back to Hong Kong and the aircraft back in service; and a cargo and engineering team, who demonstrated extraordinary teamwork to ensure customers were well cared for after a flight was diverted to a remote location in the Pacific Ocean.

Cathay Pacific Director People Tom Owen said: “We are incredibly proud of our people’s achievements and the Niki and Betsy Awards celebrate the outstanding work they have done in helping our passengers travel well and contributing to the success of the company. All our Betsy winners showed exemplary professionalism when faced with difficult and sometimes deeply distressing situations and are shining examples of our service philosophy, while our Niki winners are our unsung champions whose talent and commitment makes it possible for us to operate smoothly, every day.”

The full list of the Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon Award-winners and their stories appear in the following table:

Betsy Winners

Individual

Name & Title

Going the extra mile

1.

Donna Tenorio

Flight Purser, Cathay Pacific

Saving a child’s life

When a 3-year-old boy stopped breathing on a flight, Donna used her nursing and decision-making skills to save the child’s life.

2.

Jade Yeung

Customer Services Officer,

Hong Kong International Airport,

Cathay Pacific

Comforting a young girl in distress

Jade helped a distraught couple who were taking their adopted 6-year-old daughter home to New York, but couldn’t communicate because she only spoke Mandarin.

3.

Jonathan Keefe

Senior Captain,

Cathay Pacific

Helping a sick passenger to fly

Jonathan heard a frail passenger had just undergone surgery and that the cabin crew team were worried about her flying, he personally got involved, helping the passenger and her daughter through his compassion and kindness.

4.

Louis Leung

Customer Services Officer,

Hong Kong International Airport,

Cathay Pacific

Helping a passenger in a delicate situation

Louis displayed genuine empathy and care in assisting an elderly passenger with faecal incontinence prepare for his flight, which the passenger greatly appreciated.

5.

Teresa Kok

Senior Purser, Cathay Dragon

When Teresa’s kindness went viral

When a passenger complained about the service, Teresa spent time with him during a busy flight, making sure he felt well cared. Impressed, the passenger posted a photo of the two together on social media, which went viral.

6.

Terrence Lam

Passenger Services Officer, Hong Kong Airport Services Limited

Caring for a family and protecting a nurse from harm

When a child fell ill on a flight, Terrence accompanied the family to hospital. When the child’s father lost his temper and started kicking a nurse, Terrence stepped in to protect the nurse. The hospital described Terrence as a hero.

7.

Wendelyn Ibabao

Flight Attendant, Cathay Pacific, Toronto

Delaying his vacation to help a frail passenger

Canada-based Wendelyn was off duty but kindly accompanied the man to hospital in Hong Kong during his layover to the Philippines on vacation.

When a flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City was diverted to Danang due to low engine oil pressure, hundreds of people were left stranded. The team worked almost non-stop to care for the passengers in unexpected circumstances.

9.

A) Fanny Fong

Flight Purser, Cathay Pacific

B) Jessica Chan

Flight Attendant, Cathay Pacific

Fanny and Jessica’s lifesaving care for a customer

When a man had an asthma attack and fell unconscious during a flight, Fanny and Jessica performed CPR to save him. They subsequently accompanied him and his wife to three hospitals, providing emotional support throughout.

10.

A) Zubin Bamji

Airport Services Manager, Bangalore,

B) Sailendra Kumar Singh

Manager On Duty, Kolkata,

Cathay Dragon

Finding missing passengers and helping in a crisis

When a couple went missing in Calcutta, Zubin and Sailendra found them in hospital two days later. They booked new flights, organised accommodation and settled hospital bills out of their own pocket.

Geoffrey continually improves our ways of working and spends a lot of his own time learning so he can make informed judgments.

3.

Major Liu

Customer Services Officer,

Cathay Dragon, Shanghai

Major fights off exhaustion to help stranded crew

Major worked 16 hours to help clear a huge backlog when fog caused a major disruption. Ready to leave for home, he then helped a stranded overnight flight crew with taxi arrangements, delaying his departure yet further.

4.

Noreen Htun

Assistant People Manager,

Cathay Dragon, Myanmar

Nursing a sick colleague for five days

When a colleague fell seriously ill in Hong Kong, Noreen flew to Hong Kong and spent five days in hospital looking after her until she was ready to fly home.

5.

Sean Yow

Manager Port Accounting and Development,

Cathay Pacific

Sean’s hard work never stops

Sean has been regularly recognised for the excellence of his work in helping teams tackle challenges - from managing staff cost budget exercises and designing key performance indexes.

6.

Tim Mcintyre

Pricing and Commercial Manager,

Cathay Pacific, London

The softly spoken powerhouse who helps everybody flourish

Tim goes the extra mile and consistently prioritises customers’ needs, going beyond the scope of his responsibilities and acting as a role model for his colleagues.

7.

Wesley Cheung

Service Leader,

Hong Kong International Airport, Cathay Pacific

Awesome coach Wesley also makes time for worried passenger

Wesley is an excellent Service Leader and coach, always working hard and never hesitating to accept new challenges or extra jobs. He is regularly praised, including the time he went above and beyond for a passenger who had lost her purse.

8.

Willa Bato

Sales Executive,

Cathay Pacific, Los Angeles

Willa supports company and cares for colleague after car crash

Willa defended the company with distinction during an unexpected legal proceeding, and in a separate incident, showed true care and compassion after a new colleague had been involved in a motoring accident.

Team

9.

Aircraft B-KQY Recovery Team, Cathay Pacific

Team works tirelessly to fix aircraft in Minsk

When a flight was diverted to Belarus due to an inflight engine shut down and a suspected fuel leak, the KQY Recovery Team worked tirelessly to get hundreds of passengers to Hong Kong while also fixing the aircraft.

10.

Anchorage Cargo and Engineering Team, Cathay Pacific, Alaska

Alaskan team takes stranded passengers and engine changes in its stride

When a flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was diverted to an airforce base on Shemya in the remote Aleutian Islands, the cargo and engineering team collaborated together to ensure customers – and the aircraft – were well cared for in a highly challenging environment.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Ivan Chu and members of the airlines’ senior management
join the winners on stage at last night’s Niki and Betsy Awards